• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact

Cool and Collected

Collecting pop culture toys, comics, and collectibles collections

November 30, 2010 By 4 Comments

Sideshow Collector Statues — Worth the Investment?

Collector statues have always fascinated me. They sit behind glass on store shelves, with price tags that are usually too steep for my collecting budget, but I have always wondered what it would be like to have a shelf full of them in my bat cave. The detailed sculptures are reminiscent of something you might see in a museum, or in a Hollywood prop studio.

One of the largest creators and distributors of these collector statues is Sideshow Collectibles. I wanted to get up close and personal with one of these statues to see what you get for your money and the good folks at Sideshow rose to the challenge.

The mail man recently dropped off a huge, heavy box with Sideshow Collectibles printed on the side. Let’s just say, it didn’t take long for me to tear it open. The statue I received is from Sideshow’s Star Wars product line, featuring every fanboy’s favorite, slave Leia, taking on Jabba the Hutt. The title of the diorama is “You’re going to regret this,” and it features the pivotal scene from Return of the Jedi, where Leia exacts revenge on the giant green lump.

sideshow collectibles statue box

sideshow star wars statue

The outer box has photos of the statue from various angles, and the back of the box shows screen grabs from the movie along with some text describing the scene. The black box has an understated design that speaks to the quality of the statue it contains.

sideshow collectibles packaging

Did I say this thing is heavy? It weighs in at 8 lbs, the weight of a small bowling ball. Having never lifted one of these before, the weight was a nice surprise. I guess if I’m going to drop a few hundred bucks on something, I want it to be heavy and substantial.

sideshow princess leia

The diorama is packed in styrofoam and also has protective foam rubber and padding sheets. Leia and Jabba were laying in that white styrofoam, just waiting to be set free.

sideshow salacious crumb

Despite all this protection, poor Salacious B. Crumb lost an ear. It’s nothing a little glue won’t fix, but it was enough to take away a smidgen of the giddiness that came with opening the box. The figure is so finely sculpted, that joint between the ear and head is only slightly larger than a pin head, so I’m not surprised how delicate it is.

sideshow exclusive jabba statue

This is what Jabba looks like all by himself, licking his lips at the thought of the next tasty critter he will be fed. There are two slots on his back for Leia’s feet. The “assembly process” is fairly minimal, and you would be hard pressed to have any difficulty figuring it out, which is good because there aren’t any instructions included. Just look at the picture on the box and you can see what to do.

One really neat feature is the use of embedded magnets on the back of Jabba’s neck for the chain. You wrap the chain around his neck and the ends “magically” pull taut and hold in place. This is an elegant solution to something that could have been achieved with small hooks or pins that might break or require the chain to be looser.

sideshow statue base

Another nice surprise for me was the bottom of the base. Sideshow statues typically have a limited production run, and this is where you find the production number for your statue. There is a pretty sweet illustration of Jabba’s lair along with the Star Wars and Sideshow logos. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see anything under the statue other than maybe a sticker or two.

sideshow collectibles statue detail

The detail on these statues is amazing. Modeling realistic people is incredibly difficult to pull off, but the artists at Sideshow are top notch. Look at the detail in Leia’s back and shoulders, and you’ll see what I mean. The diorama perfectly captures a moment in time, showing the struggle between the characters.

sideshow collectibles jabba the hut

The paint on the statue is excellent. Jabba looks gross and slimy, just like you would expect. One of my favorite hobbies is to photograph items from my collections. These statues could keep me busy for a very long time, since I could photograph them from all sorts of angles, in all kinds of different lighting arrangements. It wouldn’t be too difficult to produce realistic-looking images as if you shot them at a Hollywood studio.

sideshow slave leia strangling jabba the hut

sideshow you're going to regret this statue

A statue from Sideshow Collectibles would be a highlight for any collector’s collection. There are statues for just about anything you collect in popular culture. Collector statues are not cheap, but they are totally worth the price since they are heirloom-quality items that you will enjoy owning for a good, long time.

I want to thank Sideshow Collectibles for sending me this diorama for review. I will be giving it away to one of my readers this month, so stay tuned to my Twitter feed if you want to add this to your Star Wars collection.

Filed Under: Other

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. IAreGeek says

    November 30, 2010 at 10:26 am

    I think they are totally and completely worth it if you have the funds. As long as you can properly display/store the item. The only problem I have, which is more of a personal problem, is I never open them. I want to! I may display them in the box or just store them somewhere but I just can’t bring myself to take them out of the box. It’s a good and bad thing I guess.

    I also agree that these items are heirloom-quality and for the price it can’t be beat. I plan on having a treasure trove to hand down to my children as long as they understand what they are receiving. 😉

    Reply
    • Brian says

      November 30, 2010 at 10:33 am

      Man, I wish you were my dad! My mom has been trying to hand me down her Hummel collection for years. Maybe if they had jetpacks and blasters, but until then, no thanks.

      Reply
  2. patrick says

    August 11, 2014 at 5:31 am

    take them out of the package to display them properly!! you will regret never opening them on your deathbed someday, trust me. i take all mine out and enjoy them

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tweets that mention Sideshow Collector Statues — Worth the Investment? — Cool & Collected -- Topsy.com says:
    November 30, 2010 at 11:24 am

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ambrose Coleman, Cool and Collected. Cool and Collected said: Are collectible statues worth the investment? Here are my thoughts… Please RT #CollectSideshow #StarWars http://fb.me/uor3nyef […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • “Did you say ‘Youts’?”
  • Marx Marvel Tricycles
  • Here there be dragons
  • Vintage Batman Toy Collection
  • Batman Pinbacks

About Cool & Collected

This site is devoted to us crazy few who go to great lengths to acquire items for our collection. Read more.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Support this site:

If you enjoy reading articles on Cool & Collected, I would greatly appreciate you clicking on this eBay link before you do your shopping. I will get a few pennies from any purchase you make, but those pennies can add up. Thank you for your support!

Footer

Submit a Product for Review

Want to have your product(s) featured on Cool & Collected? This is how you can submit something for review.

Recent Posts

  • “Did you say ‘Youts’?”
  • Marx Marvel Tricycles
  • Here there be dragons
  • Vintage Batman Toy Collection
  • Batman Pinbacks
  • Monkeying Around
  • Current View
  • A drawer filled with Joes
  • It’s all good, man.
  • Feeling Green

Topics

  • Art and Photography
  • Books
  • Collections
  • Comic Books
  • Games
  • Other
  • Pop Culture League
  • Shows & Events
  • Toys
  • TV & Movies

Pages

  • About Cool & Collected
  • Blog
  • Contact Cool & Collected
  • Privacy Policy
  • Submit a Product for Review
  • Tips for starting (and enjoying) a collection

Copyright © 2023 Big Fish Design. All rights reserved.